A Matter Of Timing
by icecreamcastles
Summary: A conversation leads to realization when a stranger sits next to River on the tube. (9th Doctor/River, recollections of 11 being ridiculous as always, mentions of Rose) - (one-shot)


**A Matter Of Timing**

G

9th Doctor/River, recollections of 11 being ridiculous as always, mentions of Rose

_A conversation leads to realization when a stranger sits next to River on the tube._

Disclaimer: Characters are not my own, this has been a disclaimer.

* * *

River had been sitting patiently in her seat for some time now. By chance she'd caught the tube before it had taken off. To be honest she's not really paying attention to her surroundings at that moment. Her day had been hectic enough already and she indulged in letting her guard down for a bit. It was one of those days where she was supposed to be able to relax and have a properly carefree day. No guns, no aliens – well very nearly no aliens.

"Would you mind if I sat next to you miss?"

The voice didn't startle her but it did catch her by surprise. River turned her eyes to look up at the man inquiring her permission. He looks the dark and brooding type, she knows the look well. Still, she can't help finding something strikingly familiar about him.

She smiled, "Go right ahead."

A smile breaks out on his face and it's quite a breathtaking sight.

"Many thanks." the man says and takes his place beside her.

She takes a chance and attempts at conversation. "So what are you doing taking the tube?" She asks.

"Well my," The Doctor didn't really feel like giving himself away so he searched for a word, "vehicle," he smirked, pleased, "is being a bit overdramatic. I've a suspicion it might not agree with my driving techniques just yet." He shrugged.

"Ah," River grinned, "I know someone who has that same problem. Constantly blaming the steering for being a bit off when in reality he didn't even pass the driving test."

"Is that right?" The Doctor questioned. "Might have to meet this someone you know then."

A comfortable silence falls over them. She can't explain the sudden turmoil that reaches out and grabs her. A soft but protruding unbearable ache prods at her mind gently as if it's knocking to be let in.

River's not looking at him but when the tube starts to move his shoulder knocks into hers gently and his leather jacket coming in contact with her sleeveless arm. It sends a chill through her. A chill that soon starts to burns. She debates on introducing herself. She's not sure if she should.

"I'm Melody." She offers instead.

"John. John Smith."

"John Smith." River repeated. "I quite fancy that name."

He tosses a quirked brow her way, "Quite right that you would."

The manner of his words may be tame but it's his eyes that give away everything. There's amusement there. There's danger there. There's nothing tame about him and she takes a pure delight in it.

There's just something about this man. She can't put her finger on it and it's doing her head in. All of this dark matter surround him and she aches as if it's her own.

It's entirely distracting. Just by the look of him he seems the type to go through emotions all at once. Blink and you'll miss more than one of them. She imagines it's hard for most people to decipher which is which but, then again, she's not most people.

She pities those who make the mistake of misreading him.

"Well then, John." River smiles, "Would you like to start at the beginning?"

He smiles. This one is sardonic. He crosses his arms over his chest.

"That transparent am I?" he bites back. It's with no intended malice or offense. It's just him and it's far too endearing. She can almost taste what his fury would look like. She really shouldn't want to take the chance to find out.

No. It's not fury, not now. The more she looks at him the more broken he seems. His short hair makes his ears stand out spectacularly but it's honestly far more adorable than off-putting. As for his nose let's just say her father might finally have some competition.

But it's his _eyes_.

They are making her deeply consider moving seats. She's a married woman and she's technically not doing anything wrong but those blue eyes…

"No, sweetie. It's not that you're transparent it's just that I know that look far too intimately." She knows. God, does she know. Her husband wears those same brooding shoulders when his pain and loss slowly crumble him until he's desperate and on his knees.

The Doctor looks over to her open face. A beautiful face, he thinks. So he decides to give himself a bit of an out. His name is John Smith right now, he reminds himself.

"You could say I've gotten new skin." He explains, "Shed my old one. This skin, well it's much darker. The weight is harder to carry. I travel a lot. Make a lot of friends on the way but end up losing touch with them sooner or later. So now I'm alone. Just alone."

Before she can stop herself she reaches and takes his hand in her own. "You're never truly alone, John." She smirks, "I've got so many stories that would prove you wrong. You'd probably like my bedtime stories as well."

His eyes seem fixed on her hand holding his. When he tightens the grip River's heart leaps. This man she doesn't even know is getting under her skin and it's terrifying. The good kind of terrifying. And that probably means it's definitely the bad kind.

"Top notch stories, no doubt." He replies.

"Oh, you have no idea." River's voice is entirely suggestive. His eyes twinkle at her mischief and in a blink they twinkle no more. They look lost. Fierce with rage yet the blue of his iris has her drowning.

"John, I once was alone. I turned into someone, some_thing_,that hurt so many people. People I loved and cared about. But my mother told me to be brave. As I grew up I was left with one purpose. That purpose was the most heart wrenching thing I've ever gone through. It broke my heart. After all that pain and loneliness I felt that I was doomed to be alone for the rest of my life. But someone came into my life and changed me. That's what people do. People change you but only you get to choose what you will become."

He didn't smile but he didn't have to. His eyes did it for him. "Melody, you're absolutely right."

"Of course I am." River smiled, "I'm brilliant."

The Doctor grinned. This one was like the first one she'd seen. The one that has held her helpless.

"Perhaps someone will come into my life." he reckoned. "They have before maybe someone will again. I'm pretty sure I'm not ready for it yet. To be honest I never know if I will be."

"That's the thing, John. You don't have to be ready." River said.

The speaker above them announced that they had arrived at their destination.

He looked over to River with a longing. Then River's eyes widened.

_Oh._

She blinked.

_Doctor._

Her brain ran through what she could remember in her journal and…

_Nine._

"Melody, thank you for your kindness." He leaned close and kissed her cheek. If River weren't already staggering after her little revelation that would have served as a shock enough as well.

"It was my absolute pleasure." River can hear how breathless she sounds but she can hardly care. She want to keep this sight of her husband. Well, future husband, and my oh my what a sight he is.

The Doctor stood and started to walk towards the exit doors before turning back with a smile that was even better than the last one. It's such a beauty that if she were vertical her knees would most definitely have given out on her.

"You know Melody I need to ask you something."

"Whatever would that be John?"

"Come with me?"

She could see the hope in those stunning blue eyes. It broke her heart again. She knew what was going to happen. By the looks of him she knows this face is very, very new and she knew who he would end up meeting next.

"I'm sorry, John. I can't. I'm headed to meet someone."

His disappointment was almost enough to make her take it back and say _yes, yes I'll come with you, whenever and wherever_ but she knew she couldn't.

"Right. That's fine. It was lovely meeting you. Perhaps we'll meet sometime in the future."

_Oh, yes we will._

"John!" she shouted.

He turned to look back at her.

"Believe me when I say that you may feel alone but you won't be able to feel that way much longer."

He gave another attempt at a smile and walked off the tube.

River tried not to worry. He'd meet Rose soon enough. And River had other things to think of such as _her_ husband begging in her kitchen to make biscuits for her while she spent the day out. Then, of course, came having her husband call that she'd probably want to get home as soon as possible. There was a tiny little problem with the oven blowing up, he said, but he reassured her not to worry and how he was handling it. Of all the things a Timelord wants to do baking shouldn't be one of them. It's not that she likes slapping him, he earns them.

The next stop was hers. She was a block away from her home and it hit her then.

The Doctor, her Doctor, had mentioned this before. This meeting, this exact meeting. She hadn't thought much of it but now…

"_Last time I had trouble like this was year 2005. The Tardis was being rather rude that day I had to hop on an actual vehicle of transportation, it was embarrassing, River, honestly!_" her husband had ranted. "_It was a rough time but I got back to the old girl and when I did she made another fuss. Some sort of technicality broke through the force field and I was so cross…_" he had trailed off into indecipherable mutterings when he descended beneath the console to see if anything was amiss. She'd watched him fluster with the wires below and snickered at him when he cursed. "_I couldn't stay cross for long though!_" he had shouted back up at her.

She had asked why and it all suddenly fell into place.

"_Because whoever's technology broke through the force field knew exactly what they were doing and they sent a message along with it. It led me to London. Had a nasty row with the Nestene Consciousness the day after._"

River took out her vortex and did quick work of breaking into the Tardis mainframe and typed out a quick message.

* * *

**_- Henriks Dept. Store_**

**_- London.05._**

**_- 'Barbie Girl' by AQUA is a lie. Life in plastic, it's not so fantastic._**

* * *

She attached the exact specifics to a virtual pop up that would open with the interface and even added that horrible AQUA song too just because the image of what his reaction would look like is hilarious and there should be some form of payback for his future self ruining her kitchen.

She pressed send and emotionally prepares herself for the state her kitchen is going to be in.


End file.
